Raw Food Diet While On Antibiotics? (campylobacteriosis And Clostridium Perfringens In Fecal Test)

[albercheck]

Hi everyone! I need some advice.

I've been feeding my kitten (Percy) a raw diet since he was ~3 months. We finally sorted out a good home-made diet with fine ground chicken bones and coarse ground chicken/beef muscle meat (plus liver, egg yolks and supplements, and the occasional (frozen) pet store mouse or a chicken wing/neck to munch on). He's now almost 8 months and a healthy 10.4 lbs. Since spring arrived, Percy has been supplementing his diet by hunting flies/bugs out in the yard and munching on the new grass coming up. We also had a visit from a friend's dog for a week, who likes to slobber all over him (poor kitty!) so add in dog fur and slobber.

Anyway, he started having some concerning poops last Thursday (excess mucous and blood streaks) and an increased appetite. He also has a little bit of gingivitis which I thought was from teething but hasn't gone away. I took him to the vet yesterday, who (after a cautionary comment on the safety of a raw diet) thought it might be giardia, and prescribed a deworming pill (milbemax) + 7 days of liquid antibiotic (metronidazole), and a follow up appointment. I also asked that he send away a fecal sample for testing.

The fecal test came back positive for Campylobacteriosis and Clostridium perfringens, and the vet recommended Tylosin to treat it, since he said that the metronidazole can in some cases temporarily treat the diarrhea, but not the underlying infection.

His last poop (after 4 days!!) was a normal, solid log of mostly fur with no liquid (maybe a bit of mucous on the outside) and the gum redness has subsided (though he still has tartar buildup; I'm looking into tooth brushing).

My concern is that giving him an antibiotic (especially this new one) will wipe out his normal gut flora, and he might not be prepared to handle the possible bacteria in the raw diet. Should I switch to feeding him a cooked diet until the course of antibiotics is over? The vet isn't pro-raw so I don't think I'd get an unbiased answer from him. I’m pretty sure he'll blame the bacteria on his diet at our follow-up appointment tonight ('though in this case he might be right, even though we are halfway through this batch of food and he only had symptoms after the dog was here for a week).

I'd really appreciate any input. I want to keep him on raw, but it's most important for him to be safe and healthy. My friends are also really skeptical and I'm starting to second guess this decision (it's not a problem for my health, and no kids around)

ps- Here are some pics of Percy

 

[mschauer]

Well my cat is currently on an antibiotic and I'm still feeding her raw. Different antibiotic for a different reason and no question of a food borne pathogen though.

 

[orange&white]

Percy is one handsome cat! You are also quite a talented photographer. Nice photos!

For the reason you stated, I would feed cooked while on the course of antibiotics. Aside from gut flora, I'm not sure whether antibiotics might also have an impact on gastric pH level. I wouldn't chance it. Cooked and a probiotic until a week after the antibiotics are done.

 

[albercheck]

Oh thanks! And that's a good point, any change in pH. I can ask at least that much of the vet! Percy is heading in for a checkup now so we'll see

 

[orange&white]

Thinking about Percy, what I wonder is if there is some underlying issue. Both Campylobacter and Clostridium Perfringens are common bacteria found in most mammals' guts. Something had to have caused an overgrowth which then caused the diarrhea. Could possibly just be from stress (like having a strange dog slobbering on him for a few days. )

Anyway, hopefully the antibiotics will clear him up and he can go on with his happy, healthy, handsome little kitty life. Looking forward to any updates!

 

[lavishsqualor]

Such a handsome cat!

 

[abby2932]

Definitely add in a probiotic. I don't know why vets don't suggest you give probiotics while on antibiotics but it helps so much. I wait about 4 hours or so after I administer the antibiotic to give the probiotic, twice a day.

 

[missmimz]

I didn't read your whole post, but i would 100% be using s boulardii, and there are studies that suggest it can help treat CP.

Probiotics for Cats - Why and Which Ones

If you scroll down to the part about when s boulardii will not work, there's a mention of treating CP in cats using only SB.

 

[albercheck]

Thanks for the replies! Percy's poops went back to grossness after being off the metronidazole, so we decided to start the Tylosin (which had to be compounded specially at a pharmacy so took a few days to sort out). Anyways, I've got him on that as of this morning and we'll see how he fares. I'll have to read up some more on the probiotics. I know a little about probiotics for people, but not how that translates to cats. I do give him a lick of yogurt occasionally, but he's not super crazy about it. I agree that something must have put his insides out of whack. I was suspect of the batch of raw food, but I buy my chicken/beef from Costco (whole chickens/roasts) and he was half-way through that batch before he got sick. He did eat some dog food, but only a couple of pieces before I caught him. Thankfully he seems perfectly fine besides the really really stinky poop. I'll just continue to watch him, hopefully the tylosin clears things up!

* Some more info on the "antibiotics while on raw food" question*

I asked my vet about how an antibiotic might interfere with his gut bacteria, and what effect that would have on his ability to handle potential bacteria from his raw food (or outside source, etc.). The vet first said that his gut bacteria was already out of balance, which is what is causing the problem, but that the metronidazole and tylosin are not 'broad spectrum' antibiotics, so they should only target the overgrowth of problem bacteria, leaving the rest alone. If he was on something like amoxicillin, which IS a broad spectrum antibiotic, then that would be a different story because that could potentially wipe everything out (same way antibiotics can in people). He also said there wasn't risk of a resistance to antibiotics if I were to wait and see how he does after stopping the metronidazle, because that particular antibiotic was only helping due to it's anti-inflammatory effects on his GI tract and wasn't targeting the campylobacter or clostridium perf. Based on that I felt confident that it was okay to keep on with the raw food, at least for now.

 

[missmimz]

Yogurt isn't a good source of probiotics. The ones recommended on the site I linked are human probiotics that are safe for cats and don't interact with antibiotics. In fact, most raw feeders give probiotics daily.